Blog: Effective Eating

“Deadly” Sweetener Being Disguised Under New Name – AminoSweet

Ok. This is messed up.

Since the artificial sweetener, Aspartame, has received a ton of bad press over the last 20 years, some “marketing wizards” have decided to rename aspartame to a more friendly sounding name. AminoSweet. And it’s suddenly a “natural sweetener”.

What is Aspartame aka “AminoSweet” aka “NutraSweet”?

According to their website, “AminoSweet is a low calorie sweetener that tastes exactly like sugar. It is made from two building blocks of protein just like those found naturally in many everyday foods such as meat, fish, cheese, eggs and milk. AminoSweet is digested by the body in exactly the same way as these other protein foods and so does not bring anything new to the diet.”

However, many experts and critics disagree. There have been entire books written about the dangers of aspartame. They claim that it is broken down in the body into toxic substances – Formic Acid and Formaldehyde (yes, the weird smelling stuff from your high school Biology class).

The purported side-effects include:

One look at this list makes you wonder how this stuff ever gets FDA-approved. There are a lot of conspiracy theories and some of it may even be true. But I don’t know for sure. All I can tell you is that you need to stay informed and understand what you are putting in your body.

As for me, I stay away from aspartame but a few times a year I may have something that contains it. (usually sugar free gum)

Am I suddenly going to die?

Of course not. The only people that need to be very aware of aspartame are those who suffer from PKU, a condition where the body can not metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. With that said, many people ingest aspartame daily in the form of “sugar free” foods and diet sodas.

What is the long-term impact over the next 10 years, 20 years or 30 years? No one really knows. That is scary. Use your own best judgement. Remember you and only you are responsible for your health and vitality.

Before I go I have two resources for you. First, here’s a video from FOX News. Interesting information…and a tad frightening.

And finally, the other side of the story. To read the safety evaluation on aspartame on the National Institute of Health click here

I would love to hear your thoughts on aspartame…uh I mean AminoSweet. 😉 Do you use it? Do you drink diet sodas? Do you think it’s safe? What about for kids?